Apostille : Document that verifies that a document is authentic or real.
Notarization : A signature and/or seal by someone with authority to authenticate a document. At times, a notarization is necessary to get an apostille.
GETTING AN APOSTILLE/NOTARIZATION
USA
American citizens must get their original FBI checks apostilled by the U.S Department of State in Washington D.C since it's a federal level document.
They must also get a scanned copy of their Bachelor's degree apostilled by the Secretary of State's office of his/her residence since it's a state level document.
*A notarization is not required for your FBI check but it IS REQUIRED for your degree in order to get it apostilled.
*You can get your Degree notarized by a public notary near you, a bank, or state attorney's office.
You can manually apostille both documents by visiting the FBI webpage and Secretary of State's website, but a much more efficient way is to use a channeling agency.
Most recommended apostille channeling agency : http://www.monumentvisa.com/
(Timeline estimation : Roughly 1 week)